Low not completely satisfied as Germany's Nations League drought ends

Germany may have finally bagged their first Nations League victory, but Joachim Low wasn’t completely satisfied with his team’s performance.

In the seventh attempt, Germany finally delivered in the Nations League by defeating Ukraine 2-1 in Kyiv. Matthias Ginter and Leon Goretzka scored in either half to seal all three points. Ruslan Malinovskyi may have scored a 77th-minute, but the visitors held on regardless.

Winning the showdown in the Ukrainian capital also ended a three-match winless for Germany, who moved up to second in Group A4 and two points behind leaders Spain.

But while happy to collect a first win in 2020, Low confessed to reporters after the match that he wasn’t completely satisfied.

“I’m happy that we won the game,” said the Germany boss as quoted on the DFB website.

“Before we conceded, we could have been 3-0 or 4-0 up. The penalty was unnecessary. One positive is that we allowed them a few chances from open play.

“We did, however, give the ball away too easily on occasion though. They were tired after it went 2-0.

“We played with some stability tonight. When we play with three at the back, we need active players, who tie up the opposition, and play passes forward.

“We played too many long balls in the first half. I won’t make many changes to the starting XI against Switzerland if nothing changes.”

Germany’s next opponents Switzerland, meanwhile, lost 1-0 to Group A4 leaders Spain in Madrid on Saturday night. The two sides will meet on Tuesday in Cologne for their next Nations League match.